Thanksgiving Fail: Tales from the Front Lines

See that lovely picture of Hachiya persimmons above? That was going to be my lead-in photo to a Thanksgiving Persimmon Chutney recipe scheduled for today. I labored late into the evening last night as each step of the recipe was painstakingly chopped, measured, noted and photographed until the final simmer when … disaster. Instead of a cohesive mass of sweet/sour/hot chutney, I had a large glop of strangely separated and astringent goo. Gah! At least it wasn't the turkey.

Read on for a favorite video clip Thanksgiving dinner gone awry, and tell us: What are your tales of Thanksgiving disasters and disasters averted? Share with us in the comments!

All across the USA, kitchen anxiety is starting to climb about right now as we prepare for one of the biggest meals of the year. Old-timers and newcomers alike face uncountable opportunities for Thanksgiving Fail: from forgetting to defrost the turkey to exploding pies, the stories of Thanksgiving disasters quickly become family legends, destined to haunt a cook for the rest of her life.

Dear Readers, we hope you'll share with us your tales of Thanksgiving fumbles and failures. Just to get us started, watch the clip above from the film Pieces of April where the titular character travels from neighbor to neighbor in search of a working oven for her ill-fated Thanksgiving feast.

And from all of us in The Kitchn, best wishes for a fail-free Thanksgiving tomorrow!